Solution to river pollution sought

Solution to river pollution sought

JAKARTA (JP): An environmentalist said the government should
settle the long-standing pollution problem in the Ciujung River,
Serang, West Java, or risk "erosion of the public trust".

The measures the government has taken are inadequate to stop
the pollution and companies located near the river continue to
dump toxic waste into the water, Mas Achmad Santosa from the
Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) said yesterday.

The contamination in the river that local residents use for
various purposes worsens during the dry season when the flow is
substantially reduced, he said.

Villagers in Pamarayan, Kragilan and Pontang and Tirtayasa use
the river water for daily activities like washing and drinking.

After villagers reported the pollution to the State Minister
for Environment two years ago, the government has taken a series
of actions which did bring some results.

"But earlier this year, the problem got serious: The Ciujung
River was again heavily polluted by industrial waste from nearby
companies," Santosa said.

Following complaints from local people, the West Java
authorities examined the water in the river in October 1992 and
concluded that PT Indah Kiat continued dumping used oil and other
waste into the river, he said.

In December 1992, PT Fega, a shrimp pond company, reported to
the Office of the State Minister for Environment and the Agency
for Environmental Impact Management (Bapedal) that it was
affected by the pollution.

In response to PT Fega's complaint, the government formed two
teams in charge of monitoring and controlling pollution in the
river. They then probed the case but local people did not have
access to the results of the investigation, Santosa said.

Santosa said that the teams were formed to settle the problems
among PT Fega and the polluting industries, but "not for the
benefit of the local people and traditional shrimp farmers."

"The efforts (to settle the pollution problem) without
involving the local people are doomed to discourage public
participation in the environmental management," Santosa added.

A survey conducted by the Center for Fishery Research and
Development of the Agriculture Ministry last year showed that the
waste dumped by polluting companies in the Ciujung River was in
fact toxic chemicals.

Santosa said ICEL sent a letter to the Serang regent last
month calling for a thorough settlement of the problem, but he
had not given any response.(sim)